Stockpiling 96 million tonnes of coal

A mysterious change has been made in the Australian Government's forecasts of thermal coal production.

In March each year the "Resources and Energy Quarterly" includes 6 year forecasts of thermal coal production and thermal coal exports. The difference between these two numbers might represent domestic consumption - which is likely to mean thermal coal burned in Australia's coal-fired power stations.

BUT... In the March 2019 edition, the amount of thermal coal produced but not exported suddenly jumped 33% above what has been shown in previous years.

This is a very large increase: up by 16 million tonnes a year from 48 million tonnes to 64 million tonnes a year.

• Where is all this extra thermal coal to go - 96 million tonnes in total over 6 years? 
• Is it to be stockpiled to avoid mines being moth-balled because production is far greater than what customers are ordering? 
• Is this a ruse being played out while the coal industry and Australian Government struggles to get the Adani coal mine out of the starting blocks?

Resources and Energy Quarterly March 2019 released today.
Thermal coal stockpiles are forecast to soar.
The excess of production over exports grows by 33%.
Up by 16 million tonnes a year from 48 million tonnes to 64 million tonnes. #mining #auspol pic.twitter.com/PhrNXkni6A

— Askgerbil Now (@Askgerbil) March 29, 2019